The subject matter herein relates generally to shielded connector assemblies.
Some electrical systems utilize electrical connectors to interconnect two circuit boards, such as a motherboard and daughtercard. In some systems, to electrically connect the electrical connectors, a midplane circuit board is provided with front and rear header connectors on opposed front and rear sides of the midplane circuit board. Other systems electrically connect the circuit boards without the use of a midplane circuit board by directly connecting electrical connectors on the circuit boards.
However, as speed and performance demands increase, known electrical connectors are proving to be insufficient. Signal loss and/or signal degradation is a problem in known electrical systems. Additionally, there is a desire to increase the density of electrical connectors to increase throughput of the electrical system, without an appreciable increase in size of the electrical connectors, and in some cases, a decrease in size of the electrical connectors. Such increase in density and/or reduction in size causes further strains on performance.
In order to address performance, some known systems utilize shielding to reduce interference between the contacts of the electrical connectors. However, the shielding utilized in known systems is not without disadvantages. For instance, the shielding is selectively utilized along the signal paths, where portions of the signal paths remain unshielded. Additionally, problems arise in providing shielding at the mating interface between the electrical connectors. Problems arise in providing shielding continuity between the electrical connectors.
A need remains for an electrical system that provides efficient shielding to meet particular performance demands. A need remains for an electrical system that provides a shielding interface between mated electrical connectors.